A background of divorce law
by Jason Moore
Christians have always viewed marriage as a lifelong commitment and the law upheld this view up until the mid nineteenth century. There was something called a mensa et thoro, this was more like an official separation than a divorce however. It involved the couple living apart but they were not permitted to remarry.
A private act of parliament would allow a couple to get a divorce but it cost a lot of money and was a very complicated process. Therefore not many people could get it and since 1700 only 317 were passed over a span of 150 years.
In 1857, spouses could divorce and it would no longer have to go through the act of parliament, this was because the matrimonial causes act was passed and implemented. The Archbishop of Canterbury granted Henry VIII a divorce many years previously, causing the church courts to have the power over ending marriages.
The matrimonial causes act said that women could now divorce their partners (it used to be mainly instigated by the men). The women would however, have to prodeuce proof that their spouse had been adulterous and must also have another reason for the divorce, including incest, cruelty and rape.
In the year 1923, a private members bill was passed that make it easier for women to get a divorce on the grounds of adultery. By 1937 however, the law was changed again and women could get a divorce for other reasons including desertion, drunkenness and insanity.
In 1969, a big change came when the divorce reform act was passed. This meant that a couple did not to have a big, scandalous reason to end a marriage. If a marriage had come to an end and the couple were separated for two years they would be granted a divorce. This would be extended to a minimum of five years if only one party wanted a divorce.
Between the years 1973 to 1977, a special procedure was allowed, this was something that meant undefended divorces could be granted easily and at speed. The judge would check the papers and affidavits submitted by the couple requesting the divorce, and as long as everything was in order it would be granted informally, not requiring to go to court. Divorces are not usually defended in court now because of this. A massive 150,000 divorces were granted during the special procedure.
Divorces still continued to go in the favour of the men. However a famous case in 1996 changed all this when husband and wife, White Vs White, came to blows. Pamela White was first awarded lb800,000 but she took this to the court of appeals and then the House of Lords, she was finally awarding lb1.5 million in recognition of her role as a homemaker.
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